Nine months after freshman Everett Glenn died of alcohol poisoning following a day of partying at Lafayette College, the school's board of trustees aimed a new policy at so-called unrecognized groups, such as rogue fraternities, that ply students with alcohol. The policy bars students from associating with rogue Greek organizations — or any other group — operating on campus without college approval. It bans such groups from advertising events on campus. Glenn, 19, of New Jersey, died May 5 in his campus dorm room.

PHILADELPHIA — A decision has been reached. Will it be challenged? Time will tell. After months of contentious debate, the Neshaminy School Board on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a policy that would limit, but not eliminate, the ability of students to edit out the word "Redskin," Neshaminy High School's mascot, from the high school newspaper. The policy, as approved by the board, will allow students to remove "Redskin" — a word they have deemed derogatory — from news articles, but not editorials or opinion columns.

Barely two weeks into the fall semester, athletes at Lafayette College have made up half of the students needing medical transport for binge drinking. Athletes taken to the hospital had blood-alcohol levels as high as four times the legal limit for driving. That was reason enough for college Athletic Director Bruce McCutcheon to lay down a tough new alcohol policy on Thursday — one with penalties that athletes say could have harmful consequences. At issue is the college's Good Samaritan policy, which grants immunity from disciplinary action to students who call for help and those in need of medical attention for excessive drinking.

Lehigh County will no longer cooperate with federal requests to hold suspected illegal immigrants beyond their release date. In a bipartisan move, county commissioners approved the new policy Wednesday after a federal court ruled in a Lehigh County case that detention orders from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are, in fact, only requests. The court stated in Galarza v. Szalczyk that Lehigh County prison officials violated the rights of Ernesto Galarza, who was held for three days after posting bail because of an immigration detainer.

President Clinton's decision to admit 20,000 Cuban refugees now being held at Guantanamo Bay to the United States -- and then no more -- is being criticized as inconsistent. The judgment is unfair, because there is no easy answer to the problem of Cuban refugees or simple way of dealing with the government of Fidel Castro. The first phase of the new policy is difficult enough. About 20,000 people remaining at the naval base -- some having been held there for as long as nine months -- now will be admitted to the U.S. mainland.

When a student in the Allentown School District gets a bloody nose, the teacher's hand that comes to his or her aid likely will be covered with a glove in the near future. Teachers and other school personnel will receive kits and instructions on how to handle cases when body fluids are exposed. It's part of the district's efforts to stress AIDS prevention. The district also will provide a training session in October for teachers on the nature of the disease and how to prevent its transmission, said Ralph Daubert, director of pupil personnel services.

The Nazareth Area police have instituted a new towing policy for the borough and Lower Nazareth Township. Borough council decided last year that the police department and Chief Joseph Roccosanto should develop the policy. Under the new policy, the motorist or owner of a disabled vehicle or vehicle involved in accidents now is asked whether he has a preferred towing service, and that always has been the policy, according to Roccosanto. If the motorist or owner has no preference, the police present a list of seven local towing services which answered a police department letter.

To the Editor: Bravo to The Morning Call for finally realizing your readers are more important than your advertisers, after all if you continue offending your readers, who will be buying your paper? I am absolutely thrilled with your new policy. There is no need for the owners of those so-called gentlemen's clubs to worry, we all know they exist and where they are located. People frequent those places because they want to, not because of any advertisement in the paper. Besides, do we really need to know which woman will be center stage that night?

And now, an exciting episode of "Biff Breaker -- the man who makes sure county employees don't get too many breaks." As our show opens, Biff and Carbon County Commissioners Charles Getz, John Mogilski and Thomas C. Gerhard sit at a Jim Thorpe eatery. Gerhard: We need more productivity. This county's financially strapped. We can't waste time or money. And we believe that some of our employees who smoke are taking too many breaks. So we imposed a limit on breaks. Everybody gets 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the afternoon.

The Montgomery County commissioners tightened rules Thursday for employee personal leave days in response to a worker shortage Monday, when nine deputy sheriffs took personal days and 12 others called off sick. "We can't have the administration of justice interrupted by too many taking off on the same day," Commissioner James W. Maza said. The new rules require all of the county's nearly 3,000 employees to notify supervisors two days in advance when they want to take a personal day. Until Thursday, employees could let their supervisors know they wanted to take a personal day the same day they took it. The new policy allows supervisors to waive the two-day advance notice requirement in emergencies, and also allows them to cancel approved personal leave in emergencies.

When President Barack Obama looks abroad, he sees only the possibility of frustration and more frustration. He will not be supervising the return of Crimea to Ukraine. He and the West are unable to end the slaughter of Syria's citizens by its government. There is little chance his administration will forge a final peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. I believe that Obama should continue to apply himself assiduously to these problems. But I also have a suggestion for something he could do that might actually work.

Pennsylvania's 14 state universities would ban guns and deadly weapons in buildings and other sensitive areas and but allow them in open spaces on campus, according to a proposed weapons policy going before the State System of Higher Education's Board of Governors. The policy would prohibit both loaded and unloaded guns of any kind, including pellet or BB guns, in classrooms or other campus buildings, at sporting events and at commencement ceremonies and other university events.

Parkland School District administrators touted the early success of the district's new "Open Campus" technology initiative at Tuesday night's school board meeting. The program, which began in August with a "bring your own device" policy, allows students to bring their own laptop, tablet, eReader or other wireless Internet device to school to use throughout the day. Students download the software they need for their classes onto their device from the school's website. Assistant to the Superintendent Tracy Smith said it was the first step in the district's overall technology initiative.

It took longer than any instant replay, but all parties seem to believe they got the call right. Lafayette College finalized changes to a substance abuse policy for student-athletes that stirred controversy two weeks ago when it was first announced by Athletic Director Bruce McCutcheon. The policy adopted Monday by the college better spells out and stiffens penalties, but offers more leniency than McCutcheon's original proposal. The new policy also upholds the school's Good Samaritan policy, which promotes medical intervention for severely intoxicated students by waiving any school sanctions for both those who seek help and those who need it. McCutcheon's initial changes Sept.

Two weeks ago, Lafayette College Athletic Director Bruce McCutcheon announced tough and sweeping changes to a drug and alcohol policy governing student-athletes - but college President Alison Byerly never got on board, and the policy remains in the academic equivalent of instant replay. McCutcheon met with athletes Sept. 5 and pressed them to sign an acknowledgment of a new policy, which he said went into effect immediately. The changes included stiffer penalties for stepping out of line, and language that appeared to supersede the college's Good Samaritan policy, whereby a student who is in danger due to alcohol consumption is immune from discipline if that student or another student calls for help.

Allentown Mayor Joseph Daddona used to be a three-pack-a-day smoker, but he quit cold turkey 14 years ago by puffing on wooden match sticks. Now the mayor is behind a ban on smoking in city cars and buildings. The ban is expected to officially go into effect this week. "People are complying with it voluntarily," said Daddona. "So far, we haven't had much reaction other than favorable." Last month, the city put up "No Smoking" signs in the mayor's office, the lobby and other City Hall offices.

Last January, the board of directors of the Allentown School District voted to require a districtwide school uniform policy for our students. The concept of school uniforms was an on-and-off topic of discussion and research for more than five years in the district. Finally, the time was right for this monumental change. Our goal from the beginning has been to create a business climate within our schools indicating that we are serious about learning and about safety. The economic advantages to our parents and guardians were also appealing.

Bravo to Lafayette College and Athletic Director Bruce McCutcheon's new policy regarding severe consequences for "athletes requiring medical aid for alcohol. " Finally, someone has the courage to stand up for students who are unable to monitor themselves and are engaging in self-destructive behavior. However, I do disagree that athletes should be held to a higher standard than other students. Why not hold all students to this kind of policy? Pat Luftman Emmaus